How to Play the Hand of God
by karistarz
Summary: Hikaru achieves what Sai never could. One-shot.


I was struck by inspiration at 3am. So what?

No real spoilers; I think the story takes place sometime after Hikaru becomes Akira's shouting-match buddy. Err, I mean, Go rival.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go. I don't even _play_ Go. Hence the censored game.

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><p><strong>How to Play the Hand of God<strong>

"_Kami no Itte, Kami no Itte!_ Why do you always blabber on and on about that stupid 'Hand of God' move that doesn't even exist?"

Hikaru growled, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. He was tired of hearing the same lecture about why it was important for them to keep playing, to play games, blah blah blah blah blah. That, and coupled with his seventh straight loss in a row to Sai that day (he didn't even want to _think_ about counting his overall loss streak against the ghost) put him in a bad mood. He stretched out from his position and flopped backwards onto the floor, his vision dancing from black to white to black due to the intense concentration required to play Go. Sai, however, merely grinned, though he hid it behind his fan.

"But Hikaruuu, of course it exists! Just because it hasn't been found yet doesn't mean it doesn't exist! And as Go players, we have the duty – no, the _honour_ of trying to achieve that hand until it's found! So please, one more game?" He gave the young boy his signature puppy-eyes look, fake tears threatening to fall. Or not so fake, if you're talking about Sai and his precious Go.

Hikaru groaned, and rolled over.

"No. Go play by yourself, and find that so-called 'Hand' by yourself."

"Butbut Hikaruuu, Go is a two-player game!"

Hikaru tuned him out. Honestly, he didn't get what all the obsession about the _Kami no Itte_ was about. It was like the Holy Grail in the Go world, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the treasure chest buried at the bottom of the ocean, etc etc. Akira hadn't shut up about it the other day, either, yelling at him and saying that if he kept playing like he did, he would never obtain that hand.

He snorted to himself – he liked his own hands, thank-you-very-much. He rolled onto his back again, and stretched out his hand in front of him so his palm faced the ceiling, scrutinising each inch of his beloved, _human _hand – his eyes roamed over the slender but angled joints, the smooth skin, and the chipped fingernails, a Go player's pride. How could he trade these things for something so vague as the _Kami no Itte_? He was real; he existed.

The teen looked over at the ghost who was still begging him to play just _one more game_, wondering whether he would prefer having a real body again or achieving the Hand of God…

"_Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Hikaruuuuuuuuuuuu, pleeeeeeeeeaaaaassseeee?_"

Hikaru ground his teeth and glared at Sai. He was an idiot – of course Sai would put Go first, reality second. He looked back at his hand, wondering whether he should continue to ignore Sai or give in when a wave of inspiration lit up inside his head. He could barely keep the mischievous grin from spreading across his entire face as he sat up and looked at Sai.

"Okay, fine. And this time I'm really gonna show you the _Kami no Itte_! So be prepared to lose, Fujiwara no Sai!"

Sai blinked in astonishment at Hikaru's sudden enthusiasm, but remained oblivious the second a game of Go was on. He cheered wildly instead and glomped the boy, and in his excitement, failed to notice that Hikaru wasn't protesting to his antics one bit like he usually did; in fact, he just sat there with his grin widening even more than ever…

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><p><em>Pachi. Pachi.<em> _Pachi_.

The game had begun as usual, with Hikaru's 3-stone handicap. And thirty moves into the game, Sai began to pull ahead as usual, gaining just a little more territory with his white stones.

_Pachi. Pachi._

Sixty moves into the game, and Sai was even more ahead, managing to establish the foundation of strong territories on the left side of the board and the centre area, despite a few good moves Hikaru managed to pull off. But Sai _was_ over a thousand years old after all, and had much more experience, so countered his moves easily. Maybe a little too easily…but no. Everything was as expected…right? He gave no more thought to the niggling doubt, concentrating on the mid-game.

_Pachi._

A hundred moves into the game, and Hikaru was desperately falling behind. Sai tried to ease up once in a while, but sometimes, he couldn't help but play the best move possible. Besides, it would teach his student a valuable lesson to maintain his concentration and playing consistency – he wasn't playing his best. Sai frowned. _No, Hikaru's not even playing anywhere near his usual skill level. _He glanced up, trying to decide if his student's skills were somehow degrading, and for what reason. It seemed like he'd have to teach his pupil even more rigorously.

_Pachi. Pachi._

The game was entering _yose_(1)_,_ and why on earth hadn't Hikaru resigned eighty-eight moves ago? He should definitely know by now whether he had any chance of winning or not, and yes, Sai knew how stubborn the boy could be, but not even he could be _that_ stubborn! Right?

The Heian ghost frowned, tapping his pursed lips with the tip of his fan, wondering if he should say anything to Hikaru. Perhaps his stomach was hurting him, like during the pro exam.

"Hikaru…"

The boy didn't hear him, his face all scrunched up in fierce concentration. The ghost sighed. Oh well. They could always go over the game, and he would have to point every single mistake the boy had made, even if it wasn't going to be pleasant. For one of them, at least. Sai grinned mentally.

"16-12. I think this game is definitely over, even though it should have been a long time ago—"

Sai was cut off by the sudden movement of Hikaru's hand clamping down on his mouth, as if trying to stifle something, while the rest of his body started shaking. Sai's eyes widened. Was his student trying to hold back tears of shame? He fretted, flapping his hands about in anxiety.

"Umm, umm…Hikaru…it's okay, bad days happen to the best of Go players! And you don't have to show me the _Kami no Itte_ now; you have a lifetime ahead of you and all, and—"

"BEHOLD! THE HAND OF GOD!"

Hikaru suddenly brought his hand down on the _goban_(2), sweeping most of Sai's white stones off and scattering them all over the ground. He was laughing hysterically now, almost in a maniacal way, while all Sai could do was stare in utter shock. Before his face turned into several shades of red.

"HI-KA-RUUUUUUUUUU!"

-Owari-

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><p><strong><em>Glossary<em>**

(1) _Yose_: End game (the end phase of a game of Go)

(2) _Goban_: The table used to play Go on

Honestly, if you don't know what these words mean, then you're not a _real_ HnG fan! Lol. And OH MY GOSH Hikaru knows the word 'Behold'! So very OOC, haha.

Anyway, feel free to review!


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